Right Before Then
Another Autumn Election. The crowd's cheers couldn't be controlled as Kojirou stepped on the familiar stage. The dome was filled with all the Freshmen who survived this year's training camp, and they all roared to match the honor of being on the same ground as The Magician of Legumes, the first Japanese to be awarded stars from the WGO as well as Michelin, all in the same year.
All that muted selectively as the woman Kojirou has been looking forward to meet runs towards him, beautiful and dainty as ever.
"Coach! Thank you so much for coming. It's an honor that you made time for your busy schedule for us..." Megumi welcomed him in glee, and it was more than enough to make Kojirou's trip all worth it.
"It's not like I came all the way to Japan for this event. I happen to have business at Shino's Tokyo. That's all." He said all smugged, but then quickly leaned to her ear and whispered. "Kidding. I came here for you."
He tapped her head before anyone else could raise their suspicion.
Megumi's blood rushed up to her head turning bright red. She almost forgot how sneaky Kojirou can be with trying to cross over the borders of their agreement, always teasing her of what appears like an attempt to touch her again, but not once did he continue.
Eishi and Rindou were behind him, and they all did a quick catch-up, of how Yukihira inspired cooks from small-time family restaurants to attend Tootsuki, of how he decided to travel months ago without a word leaving Hayama to carry a lot of the student council burden, and how much Tootsuki has changed with Erina's leadership hand-in-hand with the jewel generation taking charge of the student body.
Kojirou and Megumi created an isolated space from the rest who reacquainted themselves with Isshiki, Kuga, and the other alumni.
"I heard more students from the countryside enrolled this year... after hearing stories of the Tohoku Hopping Hare." said Kojirou.
Megumi sheepishly hid behind her folders. "I'm sure they were only exaggerating..."
"Just take the compliment." he said feeling more proud over the unbelievable feat she achieved. "You're already at the top tier of this generation."
It really wasn't only Soma who brought big changes to Tootsuki. It was the jewel generation as a whole. In the background, more talented young chefs from the remote prefectures of Japan have also heard of Megumi, who climbed her way up and catapulted herself to the current third seat in the academy. Moreover, she also has her share of spotlight as the culinary world outside Tootsuki waits for her to flourish.
"It's a start. I want to be where you are now, senpai... as fast as I can..." she said.
"It won't be easy." Kojirou commented. "...but like you said, you have a good coach."
Megumi nodded. "I sure do."
She is now driven with bigger goals for herself, and perhaps it was because of Kojirou's influence, but the Freshman Megumi, who only wished to pass Chapelle-sensei's class, doesn't seem to be with her anymore. A better chapter of beautiful possibilities unfolded for her because of her motivation, and at this point she wanted nothing more than to fulfill them, so that each of her success, can bring herself to understand him better, of what he did and what he's been through... then maybe, the age gap between them will be filled with more experiences for herself. This way, she can be so much closer to him.
She guided her coach to his seat with the other judges. "There will be another party at the Nakiri mansion, and Senzaemon-san would love it if you could come."
Kojirou nodded and with that Megumi moved on to her other Elite 10 duties. He now opened the folder to review the judging sheets. On the second page, he found a note.
Let's meet at the Student Council Room later after the event. -Megumi
"Sorry, this will be quick." Megumi scurried to the corner shelf as they entered the room together.
Kojirou locked the door behind him. The student council office's interior changed so much after over a decade with the new furniture and arrangement. Still, it exuded the familiar space he used to hang out everyday with his Elite 10 friends.
As Megumi reached for something on the corner, he now pondered that Megumi has already started to take full strides on her culinary journey, just as he did back then. It all began at Tootsuki.
Perhaps him being years ahead of her was for this purpose. If they studied in Tootsuki at the same time, he wouldn't have been able to support her in any way at all.
His younger self, won't be able to reassure her that all her effort will be fruitful with the path she's chosen. There is nothing more fulfilling for a man than to be capable of supporting the woman he loves in every way.
Megumi was now handing him an old photo album. "We found this while cleaning up last summer. It's something you and your friends might like."
Shinomiya opened the old album. It was a compilation of old pictures showing the Elite 10 when he was still at the academy.
"I think Hinako would appreciate this more." he said laying it on the table. "You should give it to her yourself."
"Oh right! She and Fuyumi-senpai were also judges for today. I'll give it to them later at the party."
"So what's your real agenda?" He went straight to the point. "You couldn't have pulled me in here without any other reason."
"You're right." she admitted. "I... wanted to talk to you about something, since I might not have a chance to say it later. You see..."
A loud tick echoed the room as the door unlocked. Both Hisako and Hayama entered.
"Oh! Megumi-chan, we were about to look for you." Hisako said relieved to see her. "My apologies... Erina-sama needs your help with preparing a meal for her mother. She wants you and Shinomiya-senpai to be in-charge of the first course. If Shinomiya-senpai agrees though..."
"Oh! We weren't expecting Mana-san to accept the invitation." said Megumi a little intimidated by the news. "What should we cook, senpai?"
Mana was also a judge in Blue when Kojirou joined the competition. It would be interesting if he could still satisfy Mana's craving for good food.
Kojirou tapped on Megumi's shoulder. "If it's the first course, we can cook that recipe we talked about the other day."
"Okay great!" said Hisako now punching on her phone for a call. "I'll inform Erina-sama immediately."
Erina garnished the main course she prepared for her mom. This time she will definitely prove of how worthy she is of being the head of Tootsuki Academy. Her mother, Mana, who is also gifted with the god tongue, has always been so difficult to deal with. While Mana has grown distant over the years, she is slowly merging herself back to living in the mansion. It might take some time before the family becomes whole again, but everything seems promising these days, and hard to admit, it's all thanks to Yukihira.
She wiped off a bit of sweat from her forehead with her handkerchief.
The soup should be ready to serve ten minutes from now. She turned to the corner of the kitchen where Megumi and Kojirou stationed themselves.
Megumi softly blowed on the steam of the soup from the spoon, then fed it to Kojirou, who frowned after tasting. Megumi panicked in fear then grabbed a condiment. Most likely to add the right amount of flavor to their dish. After the quick adjustment, they both tried the soup again. Both of their eyes widened then they nodded to each other agreeing they got it right this time.
Megumi signaled for her to come over. "Erina-chan, would you do the honors of tasting our dish before we serve it to Mana-san?"
Erina then approached them and tasted the soup that's supposed to be brought out first before her main course. The harmony of flavors became quite clear through their dish, and as the soup slides down Erina's throat, it soothed her of a satisfying finish, like a happy ending of a fairytale, or more like, a beginning of something so beautiful. As the aroma of their dish spread out in the kitchen, the vision of the prince with his guitar and the young lady on a piano appeared before her, both of them, side by side, playing that long-awaited duet together.
"It's perfect. Well done." Erina commended.
Megumi breathed out heavily relieved of the positive feedback. Kojirou on the other hand, propped up his glasses looking conceited like he already expected the praise.
As they smiled at each other, Erina now saw an image of the prince and the young lady holding each other's hands.
Well done...
She rooted for them for a while now, but seeing them together, her heart twitched.
I wonder where Yukihira is now...
It has been over a decade since Mana tasted one of Shinomiya Kojirou's dishes, and that was when he joined Blue before he graduated Tootsuki. His cooking was one of the very few she can count on her fingers that punched through her tastebuds to say that the food is delicious. A while ago she questioned the decision of him collaborating with a current Elite 10 member, who's most likely inferior to him.
Perhaps it was wrong of her to even doubt it, because this soup they both made doesn't put out a fight to challenge her god tongue like all the cooks that attempted to do so, but rather, it welcomed her in open arms, without any judgment. It cleared out all the bad memories of the nasty food she's been eating over the years, all to refresh her for what's about to come. The flavors spoke to her with a picture of Erina's friend, Tadokoro, wearing a beautiful gown, and Chef Shinomiya dressed like an absolute prince of a faraway kingdom. Both of them took her by the hand through the flower-filled garden of the castle, until they reached a heavy wooden door debossed with magnificent and intricate gold metalworks. The three of them all opened it together. The soup brought the excitement she used to feel when she reads a book that begins with "Once upon a time..." because she knew all those stories had a happy ending.
The soup itself is great on its own and with such a high caliber of cooking, that Mana may not want to have another dish if it doesn't come close to this. Still, it left a bit of a cliffhanger, by which it served its purpose as a fantastic yet delicate way to introduce the main course.
"Erina, I hope you have something good for me. Chef Shinomiya and Tadokoro have livened up my tastebuds."
Erina pouted. "I already threw your bucket 'cause I know for sure you will savor what's next." She referred to the bucket Mana would most likely use to throw up on when the food doesn't meet the latter's standards.
"Confident now, are we?" Mana raised a brow then shifted back to the soup.
If only I had this kind of comfort food everyday, it might have helped me not to stray away too far from home...
She glimpsed at Megumi and Kojirou who, despite being surrounded by their close friends, seem to be captivated by each other's company. Something about them may probably be the reason why the dish they made sparked a comforting moment for her. This soup is definitely not a collaborative dish between a student and a mentor.
"Erina, are they..."
"Yes, Mom. It is how you suspected." Erina answered before her mother could finish the question.
"Oh how shameful, b-b-but that's so exciting!" Mana gloated as she found something that peaks her interest. "It's like a TV drama, but with a forbidden love theme."
"R-right?" Erina strongly agreed.
Both mother and daughter were amused with their common discovery, and throughout dinner they dwelled on romance stories from classic movies and series Mana watched, to the light shoujo novels Erina read. While the sources were different, they were filled with the same love elements that most women would ever fantasize for themselves.
After dinner, Kojirou and Megumi stepped out to the balcony away from all the chatter of the little reunion in the mansion.
"You were trying to tell me something earlier." said Kojirou as he realigned his glasses.
Megumi avoided an eye contact, hesitant of her position. Kojirou knows this kind of look. It's the one when she's ultimately ashamed of telling him on what she thinks of as a blunder, but ends up to be nothing.
"Promise me you won't get mad after this..." said Megumi twiddling with her nervous fingers, still afraid of him.
"I can't promise anything, especially if you're about to tell me that you're giving up on us." Kojirou crossed his arms.
"Oh! Not that! I would never! No..." Megumi is now more fearful of the idea.
Kojirou's lips curved with how repulsive she is of that thought. "Whatever it is, it can't be anything worse than that."
Her fingers continued to dwiddle. She took a deep breath then held up her courage. "It's about my future. After graduation, I might not work at Shino's after all. Sorry..."
Megumi's eyes squinted for a yell, but after a few seconds of silence, she unflapped them as Kojirou tugged a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"I know..." he said gently stroking her hair. "If you were that decided, we would be making plans by now, but you never brought it up that much since I asked you."
Megumi still felt like she disappointed him. "I see... I suppose it was that obvious."
"So what made you decide?" He now leaned forward against the cap rail getting a view of the horizon.
"I guess there were too many things." Megumi walked to the edge of the balcony beside him. "Remember once I spent a weekend training under Doujima-san's supervision at Totsuki Resort. He said I fit so well in such an industry, he won't hesitate to give me a job... and then more ryokans have been trying to hire me from time to time to develop new recipes for them. From there I realized I still want to help out on our family business as a chef."
It is as Kojirou predicted. Megumi will be able to figure out what she wants to do near her graduation. Most Tootsuki students who survive do, and there's not a lot of them.
"I'm sorry..." Megumi turned to his side letting out a regretful tone. "It's such a huge opportunity to work at Shino's but..."
"Don't be sorry." Kojirou interjected. "It can't be helped. It takes years for some people to figure out what they want in life, so I won't stop you in realizing yours... or are you worried about something else?"
"Yes..." Megumi' head bowed feeling dismayed. "It's just that... It would mean I won't be with you everyday like we hoped."
Kojirou smiled sympathetically. "Welcome to the adult world then. There will be other things in time that would make you question all your decisions in life, so you better be ready, but..."
He raised her chin up for her to look straight at him. "...as long as you still have a space for me in your future, then we'll figure it out. We always do."
"Yes, of course!" said Megumi all fired up. Sometimes Megumi feels too fortunate when he fully understands serious matters like this. "I just want to do this for now... Somehow it's a test for myself. I want to know how far our ryokan can go with what I can do. I want to succeed in my own way, and when I do, maybe I can be worthy of being by your side."
"Megumi, if you have a goal in mind, do it for yourself and not for anyone else. Also..." Kojirou quickly pecked on her cheek. "Nobody tells my girl if she's worthy of being by my side. I'm the only one who gets to do that."
Megumi blushed hard and her paranoia went through the roof as she turned around to peek behind the.. "S-senpai please! Someone might have seen us!"
"Who are you calling senpai again?" Kojirou narrowed the space between them forcing Megumi to lean back against the edge, her heel was on the baluster.
"S-sorry... Kojirou..." she said almost in a plea with the hope that the arms now trapping her side by side would go away.
Now that he's almost on her, she had nowhere to run. An arm grazed against hers, then she felt his hand slither up from her elbow not missing an inch of her upper sleeve, until his palm carressed the side of her face.
"It won't be long right?" he said.
Megumi could read between the lines knowing what he meant, but his closeness was dizzying her mind again, and her chest could explode anytime with her heart leaping too hard.
"Y-y-yes. Anyway, your birthday is coming up. What would you like?" She changed the topic even though she already has a gift for him.
She wanted to do anything to free herself from this entrapment, because it either makes her want to faint, or cross the line of their restraints.
"W-w-what would you like for a gift this year?" she insisted.
His finger tipped on her lip. "What I'm looking at right now."
He wouldn't do anything, but it has been fun teasing her this way, and he's persistent to test how far can she resist.
"K-kojirou, please... We both promised not to do anything, remember? I'm sure you're not the type to back out on his word..." The effort of her hands pushing against his weight wasn't working much.
"I thought right now I'm just your senpai, or your personal coach?" he provoked.
"I... don't do these kinds of things with another senpai... or anyone." she defended. He was too close it flustered her. "You're... so much more than that..."
"Oh? So what kind of man am I to you then?" he taunted.
Megumi couldn't breathe again as her jawline further warmed up under his palm, his thumb slowly drawing a small circle on her cheekbone. He would always do this when he needed her to be more straightforward and honest with him.
"The man I want to make a recette with every week..." she said meekly. She was referring to their weekly cook-off whenever he's in Japan, either at the dorm, or at Shino's.
Kojirou recalled that vision of his perfect home. "Or everyday when the time comes..."
"Everyday..?" Megumi said puzzled, and after a second it dawned on her as to what he meant, then smiled. "Yes... Everyday..."
Their eyes closed as their foreheads touched each other, then they shared an embrace with her head now resting on his chest. Wrapped in his arms, Megumi once again drifted to a dream as she listened to his heart beating with hers.
"Let's stay like this for a while..." Kojirou whispered to her ear.
"Hn." Megumi made a sound of agreement as he tightened their embrace.
"Megumiiiiiiiii!"
Their moment was cut short and they had to separate from one another.
Yuki, Ryoko, and Hinako burst out of the balcony with Fuyumi just behind them. For some reason they seem to be hyped up.
"Megumi! It's your turn." Yuki pointed at her.
"Eh? My turn?" Megumi asked all clueless.
"We're playing truth or dare with a twist, and we have to win!" Hinako said all pumped.
"I'm not joining." said Fuyumi coldly sipping through a can of juice.
"You too Shinomiya-senpai. You're a part of this group now." said Yuki as she pulled Megumi's hand childishly dragging her back to the party.
Megumi turned back to Kojirou who gestured her to go ahead, and with that she and Yuki plodded off.
"Sorry if we ruined your alone time with Megumi, Kojirou-senpai." said Hinako grinning at him. "We couldn't give you a chance to do perverted things to such an innocent girl."
Kojirou's annoyance tilted which made him poke his kouhai's head, then he walked away to follow Megumi. He really couldn't wait for the time when he can spend a full day alone with Megumi without any of these distractions.
Hinako and Fuyumi intentionally distanced themselves.
"They're really doing their best, huh?" Hinako commented.
Fuyumi nodded. "I guess Kojirou is doing it right this time."
"Want to give them a little push?" said Hinako deviously.
A curious Fuyumi raised a brow. "What are you plotting now?"
Hinako grinned. "Megumi will surely be at their family ryokan in Tohoku for Christmas, right? I'm thinking we can spend the Christmas weekend there with Kojirou and the others."
"And you're aware that Megumi will be 18 at the time, and Kojirou will be forced to meet her mother again..." Fuyumi was drawn to the idea of chaos, and awkwardness.
"Uh-huh..." Hinako knew Fuyumi's mind can already figure out the rest.
"Hmm..." Fuyumi could imagine Kojirou's defense crumble infront of Megumi's mother. "That sounds fun. Let's do it."
Author's Note:
I patterned this timeline from one of the last few chapters of the manga, with some changes of course. Shinomiya really was invited to be a judge for the Autumn Elections during the jewel generation's last year in Tootsuki.
I just wanted to think Kojirou attended it to see Megumi. LOL.
There's one more chapter so stay tuned.
Sorry for the late upload. I have been in and out of the hospital recently. I don't think I can write again for a while, but will surely find the time and energy to finish this one.
Thank you all for your reviews and messages, and for those people who would drop by to read. I hope to I get to hear from you before I mark this as complete.